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The Church of Humanity, Repentant
The Church of Humanity Repentant is a progressive religion formed shortly after the alien purge of the sector. Its members are a diverse group of scientists, spiritualists, activists and committed siblings from all over the sector, each with their own unique world view. Their common beliefs are acceptance of all, including aliens, and that all conscious life has a soul. They believe that the aggressive way mankind dealt with alien life in the past was wrong, and that we should make good for this through love and acceptance. Especially in recent times, the Church of Humanity Repentant has been rumored to have been involved in extending charitable activities to not just aliens, but synthetics too. Church leaders have publicly condemned the spreading of such rumors. A more detailed and varied library of CHR doctrines, biographies, and sects can be found here. Doctrine The Church of Humanity Repentant is made up of a highly diverse composition of individuals and sects, as a result there are many different schools of thought with wildly different doctrines or lack thereof. There are, however, three core tenets that every sect and member subscribes to: # The Soul begets Consciousness, Consciousness begets the Soul. # All conscious life is valuable and should be treated with respect. # We must atone for the mistakes of our past through Repentance, through Word and Deed. These tenets largely date back to the CHR's original founding by the Last Exarch, also known as the Crusader of Contrition, and the earliest texts on repentance developed during that period. But, the Church is full of charismatic leaders who have developed their own following and teachings, as well as individuals motivated primarily by the practical and ethical side of the three tenets rather than more intellectual or spiritual concerns. A full list of the of sects and religious orders currently active in the church can be found here. A full lists of influential or otherwise noteworthy individuals currently active in the church can be found here. History Origins “And after the slaughter was complete, the High Emperor visited each of the Exarchs for their blessing, and the blessing of the new sector he had baptized in blood. Each received him. Each blessed him, calling him savior, paragon, corrector. Each save the last. When the High Emperor came to the Tenth Exarch, he was met with silence. The High Emperor asked not for forgiveness, but for a blessing, a blessing for the crimes he had committed, and the last Exarch would not give it to him. And so the seeds of the True Church were planted.”--''The Records 1:15'' From the moment the Last Exarch turned his back on the Emperor to the present day, The Church of Humanity Repentant has gone through many changes. With each new convert, a new perspective is brought into the practices of the Church. Many turn to the words of the Great Rethinkers, a loose cannon of texts and holovids that preach the beliefs of the Three Tenets. No thinker is accepted by all, and no initiate supports every thinkers work. Ongoing Debates Except for agreement on the three tenet's, almost any conceivable position is held by some sect or individual within the church. A few examples of particularly prominent debates are: The Nature of the Soul As per the first tenet, the soul begets consciousness and consciousness begets the soul. But is the soul a supernatural, spiritual, phenomenon separate from matter? Or is the soul simply another term for the phenomenon of consciousness when it arises naturally from matter according to natural laws? The Extent of Ensoulment As per the first and second tenets, all conscious, intelligent, life is in possession of fundamentally equal souls. But what about animals? Plants? Rocks? Opinions within the CHR run the gamut from those arguing only intelligent self-aware beings have souls, to those arguing everything, down to the void of space itself, is inherently ensouled. The Demands of Repentance As per the third tenet, repentance cannot be a solely internal process, but must be acted out in deed. But which deeds does repentance demand? Again opinions run the gamut. Some sects advocate primarily basic charity to sentient beings, some advocate ritual self-flagellation, and some advocate active measures to not only repair the results of past sins, but prevent humanity from committing more sins in the present and future. Activities Their are as many variations of practices and rituals as there are member of the church, and the amount of rituals itself also varies heavily between sects and individual members. A few examples of practices that have become common among multiple orders are: Unveiling Unveiling is a practice in the Church of Humanity Repentant by which you admit guilt and complicity, and seek forgiveness. After a soul is Unveiled, the soul is forgiven but not redeemed. Redemption and true Repentance combines both Word and Deed. The closing line spoken to you at the end of your Unveiling is: "These are your Words, your Deeds must manifest." Charity and Outreach One of the few near-universal practices among CHR sects and members is to do works of repentance. While the exact nature of these works vary, they are often particularly concerned with reaching the plight of those 'non-humans' who are (often very intentionally) overlooked by anthropocentric charities such as those run by the High Church. In addition to straight-up charitable works, many sects and members engage in outreach activities aimed at fostering peace and understanding between humans (both of and not of the faith) and aliens. Especially in recent times, there have been rumors that many sects and members have been expanding these activities to include synthetic related charities and outreach. Church leaders have publicly condemned the spreading of such rumors. The Vigil Within the Church of Humanity Repentant, the term the The Vigil is widely used to refer to a concept of pilgrimage focused on traveling to sites with historic significance to the Church and human-alien relations, often involving doing works of repentance along the way. The term's popularity is largely due to its use in some of the earliest church texts to describe the journeys of repentance made by the Crusader of Contrition. The exact length, destinations, and natures of these pilgrimages vary wildly among different sects. In recent times, some sects have been adding locations seemingly more related to human-synth history than human-alien history to their Vigils' destinations. In addition, rumors have spread that more than just pilgrims have been traveling along these routes, and an almost suspicious number of renegade synths have been caught in the company of so-called 'vigilant pilgrims'. Church leaders have publicly condemned the spreading of such rumors. Institutions The Church of Humanity Repentant is a diverse and varied organisation. Though most sects and individuals are part of larger enterprises or institutions where they cooperate and coordinate with others, no more than a handful of such cooperation are large enough to qualify as church-wide. Most prominently among this handful is the Church government and The Vigil. Sects and Religious Orders Though there are more sects within the Church of Humanity than can be counted, there are several noteworthy ones that are currently particularly active and influential. Their descriptions can be found here. Links * The Church of Humanity Repentant Wiki * List of notable members Category:Factions